


The Six

by SparkleQueen89



Category: Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst and Fluff and Smut, Avengers Family, BUCKY IS A GREAT DAD, Domestic Bucky Barnes/Steve Rogers, F/M, Gen, HYDRA sucks, Hydra (Marvel), Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, M/M, Multi, Not Canon Compliant, Not Captain America: Civil War (Movie) Compliant, Not Captain America: The Winter Soldier Compliant, Not Spider-Man: Homecoming Compliant, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, POV Alternating, Past Child Abuse, Peter Parker is awkward, Post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Sam Wilson is a flirt, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Uncle Tony Stark, dad bucky, references to the Red Room
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-09
Updated: 2018-08-17
Packaged: 2019-06-24 08:12:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,071
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15626499
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SparkleQueen89/pseuds/SparkleQueen89
Summary: After the fall of HYDRA, James Buchanan Barnes returns briefly to rural St. Petersburg, to try and collect what might be left of him at what he's supposed to call home. He doesn't find much in the way of useful supplies, but he does find someone- 10 year old Talia. One of the six children that HYDRA was training as child soldiers. The other five were long gone, but Talia, assumed dead, had been surviving on scraps. Bucky took Talia, as his daughter, and set out with her to find the other five. Two years later, he was picked up by Steve Rogers, Sam Wilson, and Tony Stark. Pardoned from his crimes under HYDRA as a Prisoner of War, Bucky, Talia, and Steve set up a life in New York, where the enhanced and hyper smart Talia is enrolled at Midtown Science and Tech. Her life seems to be calm, and great, with her Dad, his boyfriend Steve, and the rest of her Avengers family. In one weekend,her life seems to go topsy turvey- Her Dad finds one of her siblings, and she gets partnered with the adorable and awkward but also hyper smart Peter Parker on a school project. Not only that, but are her Dads finally going to get married?!





	1. Switching Partners

Chapter 1-Switching Partners.

 

‘ _ Talia stop. Steve and I will pick you up from school Stop. Headed up north for the weekend Stop. See you at 1500 hrs. Stop.’ _

 

Talia Barnes rolled her eyes, before sliding her smartphone back in to her backpack. Her adopted father was so weird. He used voice to text and always treated it as though he was sending a telegram. So did Steve. At first everyone thought it was because both of them had been born in 1917, but Talia knew they just enjoyed annoying the heck out of everyone.

 

She headed down the hall to the last class of the day- PE, her least favourite- anticipating the weekend ahead. Going up North meat the compound for the weekend, where Talia could actually get a decent workout. She changed quickly in the toilet stall, in to her school issued gym strip and sighed. The grey shorts and maroon t-shirt were itchy and no matter how much she washed it, never seemed to smell like anything other than sweat and linoleum.

She stuffed her regular clothes, shoes, and back pack in to her gym locker when she heard a taunting voice behind her.

 

“Hey Taaaaliiiaaa.” the high pitched voice of Isobel Martins called out. She was flanked on either side by her cronies, Emily and Marla. Isobel smirked at Talia while Marla offered her a hesitant smile and Emily looked over her perfectly manicured nails.

 

“Hey Isobel. Emily, Marla,” Talia nodded at the girls.

 

“So listen...I have a favour to ask you.” Isobel purred, stepping closer. “You know that Drafting project we were assigned today?”   
  
“What about it?” Talia replied.   
  
“Well, you’ve been partnered with Carey McMillan. I’ve been partnered with Peter Parker. I was hoping you could trade?” She asked, her voice sounding sickly sweet. Talia raised her eyebrows.

 

“Peter is the smartest kid in our class. Why would you want to trade partners? You’re basically guaranteed the best grade on that project with him.”

 

“Well, My girl Marla here has a crush on Carey, not so much on Puny Peter. We were hoping you’d trade so that I could do a little work to hook them up.”

 

Talia glanced away from Isobels ice blue eyes to Marla’s soft brown. Marla looked like a puppy begging for a strip of bacon from the breakfast table. Talia felt bad for her. Carey McMillan was cute as hell, but definitely third string when it came to popularity at Midtown. This whole thing was going to end in disaster, but that was Marla’s choice.

 

“Sure. I’ll trade. I hope it works out for you, Marla.” Talia said, heading for the gym. The girls squealed like mice, and Talia winced. She’d have to get Uncle Tony to look at her dampeners this weekend.

 

Talia spent the hour in her gym class running laps on the track field. Coach had a big football game this weekend, and gave them a free choice activity hour, so he could talk strategy with the team in his class. Most of the girls were sitting on the lawn, on the pretext of doing yoga, while Talia ran. She needed to burn her energy but gym class wasn’t the place. She had to pace herself, and not show off. She’d have to wait until she got to the compound.

 

After 45 minutes she had barely broken a sweat. She headed back in to the change room to have a quick shower before class ended. She didn’t want to be stuck in the city any longer than she needed to be. She bumped in the Peter Parker on her way in.

 

“Oh hey Talia. I was just looking for you!” He said quickly. His eyes flitted around for a minute. “Isobel said we had to switch partners and you were my new partner for the drafting project. I was hoping maybe we could get started this weekend?”   
  
“Peter i’d love to but i’m going to visit family all weekend. Why don’t we text through the weekend though, and we could get together Monday after class to write things out? Talia responded.

 

“Ohh yeah uhm sure, uh, here’s my number.” Peter said, shakily scribbling out a phone number on a scrap piece of paper. This kid was so jittery.

 

Talia grabbed the number from him with a smile, and hurried in to the change room. She only had ten minutes left for a quick shower and time to change before she had to meet her dad.

 

She texted peter quickly, so she could get rid of the paper, a habit she had yet to break. Marla came in as Talia was tugging her tank top down over her body, the first one of the rest of the class to make it to the locker room.

 

“Talia,” Marla called softly. “Thanks again for switching partners with Isobel. You’re really nice.”   
  
“So are you Marla. You’re kind. You deserve good things. Don’t forget that okay?” Talia said, but Marla was staring at her stomach, where her top hadn’t quite come down. She was staring at the scar along her abdomen. 

 

“Appendix removal gone bad.” Talia said quickly, pulling her cardigan on. Marla nodded, smiling at Talia again. Talia rushed past the crowd of girls heading in to the locker room, and headed out to the front of the school to meet her Dad. She couldn’t get out of there fast enough. She slid in to the backseat of her dads car, frowning.    
  
“We couldn’t take the bikes?” She asked by way of greeting. Her dad frowned at her from the passenger seat up front.

 

“No. It’s a four hour drive and you don’t have a license. We’d get busted.” 

 

Talia sighed, and tried not to pout. She was anxious, being in the city too long made her jumpy.

 

“You can take mine out at the compound, how’s that kiddo?” Steve said from the driver’s seat, smiling at her in the mirror, as he pulled out of the parking lot. Her phone beeped and she glanced at it.

 

“Hey Partner! Looking forward to getting the best grade on this project with you!” Peter had texted her. She smiled at her phone and glanced up again.

 

“Sounds great, Steve.”


	2. Strength And Secrets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First night at the compound

Bucky watched as Talia sparred with Natasha. He knew Nat wouldn't do anything to hurt Talia, but is was evident that his adopted daughter was getting quicker and stronger. Steve came up behind Bucky, slipping his arm around his waist and pulling him close.

“She's getting stronger.” Steve observed. Bucky didn't say anything. He just watched as Talia blocked a hit from Nat, and then used her right leg to sweep Nat off her feet, and on to the mat.

“She's stronger and faster every time we come here. I had thought keeping her in the city might help slow things down, but whatever they gave her seems to be doing whatever it wants.” Bucky finally said quietly.

Steve sighed in response, tugging Bucky closer. It had been two years since they'd been together. Four years since the fall of Hydra. Steve had finally tracked Bucky down, only to find out he had a daughter, and that daughter was one of six enhanced child soldiers Hydra had been training.

In the aftermath of the destruction of Hydra, Bucky had gone back to rescue the children. Talia was the only one there, 12 years old and scared. Covered in dirt in a broken down building, she'd been left behind, assumed to be dead. Bucky wrapped his arms around her and carried her out. They'd been together ever since. Talia hadn't known where her siblings had gone. They had scattered. Bucky and Talia set out to track them down, but it was harder than they thought.

That's when Steve and his team had found them. He'd taken them back to the Avengers compound, had Bucky cleared of all legal charges, and moved into an apartment in Queens with him and Talia, so they could be together and Talia could go to a school that would challenge her intellect, but not allow her to grow too strong or quick.

It was difficult though. Talia didn't really have any friends. At least, none she talked about. She Skyped with Princess Shuri from Wakanda and she hung out with Wanda and Vision and Natasha at the compound when they got up here, but at home...she kept to herself. She did her work, she trained, she binged watched years of crummy TV that she had never seen before. She never went to parties. Was always home right after school. She didn't use her phone too much, and only used her computer for research and school work and movies. Bucky was worried about her. He wanted her to have friends and be well adjusted, but apparently that would be harder than he realized.

Something beeped and Bucky, Steve and Nat all looked at their communications devices. Stark had arrived and he had a lead for them.

“Talia, we have to go meet Tony in the conference room. Wanda has dinner ready in the kitchen if you're hungry.” Bucky called. Talia frowned.

“Ugh. Dad. We've only been at it for an hour, I haven't even broken a sweat.” She complained.

“Go eat dinner and get started on your homework. We’ll take you out on the track after, okay?” Bucky said. She pouted but didn't say anything, pulling her t-shirt over her sports bra and heading for the kitchen. Natasha watched her go.

“She's getting stronger.” Was all she said, before leading them in to the conference room where Tony and Rhodes waited for them.

***

Talia slipped in to the kitchen where Wanda was sitting with Vision, eating dinner. She smiled and nodded by way of greeting, before filling a plate with the delicious smelling curry that Wanda had cooked.

“How are your studies going, Talia?” Vision asked. She shrugged.

“It's hard.” She responded after a minute. “The school work is so easy, but Dad says not to bring attention to myself so I have to dumb it down. It's not fair. I'm smarter than almost every kid in that school.”

“Almost every kid?” Wanda asked. “Who is smarter than you?”

Just as Wanda finished her sentence, Talias phone chimed. Peter, texting her back about the woodwork vs metalwork debate. She smiled at the long paragraphs he sent.

“This kid Peter. He's basically a genius, could probably be the next Tony Stark if he had the kind of money Tony grew up with. He's my partner on a project right now.”

Talia inhaled the rest of her dinner while she read Peters message. She hurried in to the quarters she shared with her dad while they were at the compound, opened her drafting book, and texted Peter back. She and Peter messaged back and forth, arguing between metal or wood for there project. Whatever they designed, they’d have to build. She pushed her drafting book away and began work on her english paper, finding herself laughing at some of Peters texts. He might be jumpy but he was pretty funny. Two hours later, Steve popped his head through the door.

“What’s so funny, Princess?” He asked her. Startled, she dropped her phone, and tried not to look guilty.

“Just laughing at my drafting partners ridiculous ideas.” She replied. “And don’t call me Princess.”

Steve raised his eyebrows at her, but didn’t continue the line of conversation.

“Do you want to go for that run?” He asked. “Bucky and Nat are eating dinner, but I’m not hungry yet.”

Talia dropped her textbooks on the floor and scrambled for her running shoes, Steve staring at her again.

“What?” She asked. He shook his head.

“Nothing...you’ve just changed a lot from the scrawny kid you were when I found you. I don’t think your Dads ready to accept that you have grown up so much. I’m surprised you haven’t started dating yet.” Steve said, with a smile.

“Date who? The peons at my school? Gross.” Talia said, pushing past him, and heading for the running track.

“What about this drafting partner? Is it a boy? Seemed to make you smile.” Steve said, nudging her with his elbow. She grabbed his arm, and had it behind his back before he could blink.

“You say that again, i’ll have you on the ground faster than you can blink.” She muttered.

“I might be a hundred years old, Talia, but..” Steve twisted and had her pinned against the wall. “I can still fight better than you.”

Talia grinned at his blue eyes and nodded. “Don’t tell Dad my partner is a boy, he’ll get weird.”

Steve released his hold on her and they nodded at each other. They continued to the track in silence, and Talia finally got to let loose and get a proper run. 90 minutes later, running full speed, she had finally broken a sweat and was beginning to feel short on breath. She slowed down to a walk, and Steve slowed down to walk beside her.

“Why are we here this weekend?” Talia asked after a moment of silence.

“Wanted to get out of the city.” Steve said. Talia rolled her eyes.

“I’m not an idiot. Something’s going on. Wanda and Vision are here, Auntie Nat is here, Uncle Tony flew in and i know Uncle Clint is on his way. Something’s up, and I want to know.”

Steve kept pace with her for a few minutes without speaking. She headed over to the bench where they’d left some water bottles. He sat down and rubbed his face with his hands.

“Your dad wants to tell you what’s going on, okay Princess?” He said finally. “But you’ve got to let him do it in his own time.”

Talia nodded. She and Steve were usually so open with each other. After the kind of lives they’d lead...you keep yourself open to the people you can talk to. She didn’t say anything, and they headed back in to shower. It was almost 11 at night, and Talia knew her Dad wouldn’t say anything to her tonight, so she kissed him good night and crawled in to bed, her hair still damp and smelling like juniper.

Steve slipped his arm around Bucky and placed a kiss on his temple. He was sitting across from Natasha and Tony, going over the photos Tony had brought. Nat smiled at him.

“How’s Talia?” She asked, as Steve grabbed a fresh bottle of water from the fridge.

“She’s getting faster. We ran for an hour and a half straight, and even then, she was barely sweating. Her stamina is building up.” Steve frowned. “I wonder if we can’t get Shuri to run some tests. She might be able to figure something out.”

“That might be an idea. T’challa is coming up in a few weeks on business, I’ll reach out and see if she can come.” Tony said, finally looking up.

“Did she get to sleep okay?” Bucky asked. Steve nodded.

“She was laughing a lot earlier, do you know what that’s about?” Bucky said. Nat smiled and bowed her head.

“Something to do with a drafting project and her partner.” Steve shrugged. “That’s all I could get out of her.”

Steve sat beside Bucky and pulled the photos towards him. A ten year old girl with brown hair and blue eyes stood, surrounded by the ruins of a playground jungle gym, face tracked with tears.

“We’re taking the Quinjet to Salzburg tomorrow.” Tony said. “For now, all of you get some sleep. Wilson will be here in the morning, and Pepper, Wanda, and Vision will be here to keep Talia company.”

“She wants to know.” Steve said, causing three pairs of eyes to turn to him. “Talia knows somethings up. She wants to know what’s going on.”

“I’ll tell her.” Bucky said, pushing back from the table abruptly. He knew this wasn’t going to be an easy conversation, but it was a conversation they needed to have nonetheless.

Starting tomorrow, everything could change.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you think so far? Leave a comment!  
> I'm going to update what I have already written every few days until i run out, and the I'll try to update every Monday!


	3. Found

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Why are they really at the compound? Plus, some important and cute heart to hearts!

Chapter 3- Found

Talia tossed and turned all night. She couldn't sleep. She knew something had been going on, but she hadn't expected to have the conversation with Dad that she'd had.

“Talia? You awake?” He’d whispered, leaning on the door frame. She flipped on her lamp and sat up.

“Are you going to tell me what's going on?” She asked. He nodded, and moved in to her room. He sat on the edge of her bed, and she slipped to the floor, leaning against his legs, just like they used to sit when he first found her.

“This is hard to say. And I don't want you to get your hopes up.” He said in his low voice. “But...we think we found one of your siblings”

Talia froze. She didn't know what to say. She closed her eyes and took a steadying breath.

“Where? And...who?” She finally whispered. Bucky ran the fingers of his non-metal hand through her hair and she snuggled up to him more.

“Svetlana. In Salzburg.” He said. Talia’s heart jumped. Lana. Her baby girl. The youngest of them all. Oh my god.

“Tony thinks after Hydra collapsed she was picked up by an international adoption agency. She's left a path of destruction that they've covered up from foster home to Foster home but two days ago at a public school event something happened and she wrecked a playground” Bucky had said.

Talia sat up and rubbed her face. Poor Lana. She had never known anything other than the Hydra base, she'd been there since she was a baby. She was only six when the compound blew. Talia knew she shouldn't get her hopes up, but she couldn't help it.

She rolled out of bed and padded down to the common area with the TV. It was 2 am. Everyone had gone to sleep, finally. Talia flipped Netflix on and stared mindlessly at a cop show supposedly set in New York, with a hilarious young detective who made mistakes but always solved his cases. It was something she normally binged with Steve, but it also made for comforting background noise.

“Can’t sleep?” Uncle Tony asked, sitting down across from her. She shook her head.

“Dad says I can't come with you…” Talia responded, glancing at him, trying not to sound too hopeful. Tony shook his head.

“Absolutely not. You’re underage and untested.” He said. He headed in to the kitchenette behind them. “Hot chocolate?”

“Yes, please.”

She slid in to a stool at the counter while Uncle Tony steamed milk and mixed in chocolate.

“Hey Uncle Tony?” She said quietly. He slid a mug topped with whipped cream over to her.

“What's up kid?”

“If you're wrong...if it's not Lana...what will you do?” Talia said, staring at the mug in front of her.

Tony looked at her steadily.

“She’s obviously an enhanced individual. I've already gotten permission from the Austrian authorities to bring her back with us. If it's not Svetlana like we think, she's still safer with us.” He said, shrugging nonchalantly. He had foam in his mustache and Talia hid her grin by taking a sip of her own hot chocolate.

They sat in the quiet, the hum of machines in the background. She drank her hot chocolate while Uncle Tony sipped his and watched her.

“Hey kid, you're okay right?” He asked after a while. “I know you need your dampeners updated because your hearing is getting better, but what else is going on?”

Talia was quiet.

“Honestly I don't know. I feel like the less I get to use my...abilities the stronger they're getting. Like that girl from the book who could move things with her mind and got adopted by her teachers. They're pulling at me to be used.” She said in a rush. Tony nodded, rubbing his goatee.

“It was suggested we have Shuri and Banner run some new diagnostics tests. Maybe see if something has changed?” He replied after a minute.

Talia's heart leaped in to her chest. She was dying to see Princess Shuri! She nodded enthusiastically.

“Absolutely. How soon can Shuri be here?” Talia asked, raising her voice. Tony raised an eyebrow and laughed.

“A few weeks yet. We're still working out the details. She wants to wait until your Dad's new vibranium arm is done, so she can install it here.” Tony grabbed her now empty mug, and popped them in the dishwasher. He came around the corner of the counter and hesitated before wrapping his arm around her and kissing her head.

“Whatever’s going on, we’ll figure it out together, okay Princess?” He said. She leaned in to the hug before he could let go.

“Don't call me Princess.” She responded, kissing his cheek and heading back to bed, feeling significantly better than she had before.

 

***

Bucky and Steve slipped in to Talia's room at 455am to say goodbye. She slipped out of bed, groggy and tired to hug them.

“Love you Daddy,” she said burrowing her face in to Bucky's chest. He hugged her back tightly.

“Love you too, Princess.” He whispered. “Stay safe. We should be back tonight. But if not, you stay here until we get back.”

She nodded. The rules were always the same. Her dad kissed her head and released her, and she turned to hug Steve.

“Bye Steve. You take care of him please!” She said to him.

“I will. Love you kiddo.” He said.

“Love you too.”

She squeezed them both one more time before slipping back in to bed. Bucky pulled to covers over her, and she was back asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. They watched her for a minute, her chest rising and falling peacefully with each breath.

They quietly slipped out of her room, and Steve wound his fingers around Bucky's.

“We have a problem with that girl.” Steve said.

“She's perfectly well behaved. A little pouty when she doesn't get her way, but we've never had a problem before.” Bucky said, confused. Steve shook his head.

“Didn't you see it when we said goodbye? I'm a hundred years old and her father's boyfriend and even I can tell she's incredibly gorgeous.”

Bucky stopped in his tracks, jerking steve back.

“What do you mean? Talia’s always been beautiful.”

“Well yeah. But...I think this is the year boys might start knocking at her door.”

Before Bucky could respond, Natasha walked up beside them.

“If you're talking about Talia, I wouldn't worry about boys. She’d knock them out as soon as they knocked on her door” The spy said, smiling. “She might be gorgeous but she really has no interest in dating.”

Steve shrugged but Bucky looked at her skeptically.

“How do you know?”

“We talked about it when we were sparring. I asked if she had a boyfriend and she hit me in the stomach and said she'd never date the peasants at her school.” Natasha said. Bucky and Steve laughed.

“She referred to them as peons to me actually,” Steve mused, as the trip continued the walk to the quinjet.

Sam Wilson stood, talking to Tony and Pepper Potts by the Quinjet. They looked like they were arguing with each other, which, for Sam, Pepper and Tony, would not be out of the ordinary.

“...show up out of the blue in all our gear with no one she feels safe with, it could cause problems, that’s all I’m saying.” Sam was saying to Tony and Pepper as the trio approached.

“What’s going on?” Steve asked.

“Wilson thinks we should let Talia come with us.” Tony Stark said. “And my enigmatic partner seems to agree with him for some reason.”

  
“Sam thinks us going in like this will freak the little girl out. We don’t know what kind of memories of Barnes she has, so without a face she recognizes, and finds comforting, it could be hard to get her to go with you.” Pepper explained. Steve and Bucky glanced at each other, before Nat spoke up.

“We don’t know what kinds of memories she has, you’re right. Maybe she doesn’t even remember Talia, either. Right now, it’s too risky to bring an untrained teenager on a mission. We stick to the plan. We go in quietly, Stark and I will pick her up from the foster agency, and we leave. We only bring out the guns if they try to shoot us. We’ve got to be diplomatic on this, just like Tony said last night.”

Five heads turned and stared at the red head.   
  
“I’m sorry, did you just agree with me?” Tony asked her.

“I wish i could take that back. Now shut your mouth and get on the jet, we’ve got to be there in an hour and a half.” She replied, walking on to the jet and to the cockpit, where Clint was already sitting.

Tony and Pepper kissed goodbye, and Tony followed Sam and Steve on to the jet. Pepper put a hand on Bucky’s arm as he moved to follow them.

“It’s going to be okay,” She told him, firmly, staring in his eyes. He nodded without offering any more of a response, and settled in across from Steve.

 

***

 

“Talia, would you stop that pacing?” Pepper said to her. “You’re making me nervous.”   
  
“I can’t, I’m sorry, They were supposed to be home an hour ago. I’m too nervous to sit still and you won’t let me out on the track.” Talia said. She didn’t mind Aunt Pepper usually, but she was so in to calming meditations and yoga and mindfulness, it sometimes got to Talia.

“I know, I’m sorry, but you can’t be out there without supervision.”

“Why can’t FRIDAY count as supervision. You’d keep an eye on me, right FRIDAY?” Talia called out to the AI that monitored and ran the whole compound.

“I would be happy to Ms. Barnes, if Ms. Potts would allow it.” The happy AI voice replied. Talia cocked her head and raised an eyebrow at Pepper, who was at the dining room table surrounded by a mess of papers.

“Why don’t you do your homework instead?”

“Because it’s almost all done, and the part that isn’t done, I’m waiting for my drafting partner to get back to me on.”

“Partner? Is it a boy? A cute boy?” Pepper prodded. Talia rolled her eyes.

“Yes it’s a boy. And he’s jittery and scrawny and hyper smart. I don’t think he’s really cute, but i do think he’s going to help me get a good grade on this project, once we decide what we’re doing.” Talia said, flopping down in to a chair and burying her face in her arms.

“Friday, have you heard anything from the Quinjet yet? Can you track it?” Talia asked, for probably the 8th time that hour.

“My apologies Ms. Barnes, but I have received no communications from the jet, and it’s cloaking device is preventing me from tracking it. I will inform you when I receive any transmissions.”

“Thanks Friday.” Talia said. She stood up and began pacing again.

“Friday, if I allow Talia to go to the gym, will you please keep an eye on her?” Pepper called out.

“I would be happy to, Ms. Potts.” the voice called out. Talia spun and stared at Pepper.

“You can use the treadmill and the heavy bags, but no free weights or bench waits unless Wanda or Vision can come spot you.” She said. Talia nodded.

“Thanks, Aunt Pepper!” She called, heading for the gym.

Two hours and one burst heavy bag later, Talia headed back upstairs. She checked in with Pepper, still nothing from Uncle Tony or her Dad, and she headed to the shower.

“Friday, let me know if anything happens while i’m showering please.”

“Always, Ms. Barnes.”

Two hours later, Talia and Pepper were finally standing on the deck, watching the Quinjet land, nervous about what was going to greet them when the doors opened.

Finally, the doors open, and Uncle Tony exited, flanked by Uncle Sam, down the ramp, still in their gear. Following them was her Dad and Steve, and right behind them, were Clint and Auntie Natasha, holding the hand of a ten year old girl. Talia flew down the steps, and her Dad came rushing over to her, scooping her into a hug.

“Dad! You’re okay! What happened? Is it...is it our Lana?” Talia asked breathlessly.

“Yeah we’re fine. We were followed and we had to backtrack and switch out jets. Yes it’s her but…” Bucky trailed off.

“But what?”

“She’s afraid of me. She called me...Soldier. She won’t come near me. I don’t think she trusts me. She’s been clinging to Nat the whole trip. Nat and Sam.” Bucky said, and Talia could hear the sadness in his voice.

“Dad, it’s fine. It took me awhile too, remember? Hydra messed us up. Can I see her?” Talia said, glancing over her shoulder, to wear the girl was now hiding behind Natasha while Pepper and Tony tried to talk to her.

“Yes. I told her you’d be here. She wants to see you too.”

Talia stepped away from her Dad, and walked towards the little girl. She squeezed Steves had as she walked by, but didn’t stop. The group went silent as Talia reached them and she crouched down, so she’d be eye level with her.

“Lana, do you remember me?”

The girl peaked around Natasha’s legs, her eyes bright like she was trying to hold back tears. She looked Talia up and down and stepped out hesitantly.

“I called you Lala, because I couldn’t say Talia.” the girl whispered. “Is it really you?”

“Yeah, it’s really me sweetie, come here.” Talia opened her arms and Lana launched herself in to them and began to sob.

“Lala i’m scared. All these people showed up with Soldier and said they were here to take me somewhere safe and that Soldier was your Dad now and they wanted to help me. I didn’t know what to believe, but the red hair lady said you’d be here and then the wing man said it was okay, and then some of the bad men followed us and he protected me and i’m really scared.” She sobbed. Talia wrapped her arms around her.

“Lana it’s okay. It’s okay, i promise. This is a really safe place. These people have taken care of me for two years. They’re going to help you, I promise. They even have a bedroom for you, and clean clothes!” She said. “I promise you, you’re safe her. No more running. I’m here. It’s safe.”

Lana buried her head in to Talia’s shoulder and continued to sob. Talia held on to her, and whispered to her until she calmed down. The adults gave her some space, filling Pepper in on the mission report. She could see her Dad watching her, as Lana peeled herself away finally.

“Is Soldier really your dad?” Lana asked doubtfully.

“Yes. He’s kind and smart and wonderful. He and Steve take care of me. They love me.” Talia said firmly. “Lana, listen. When we were at the base, those people? They did bad things to us, to our bodies. But whatever they did to us, they did much much worse to him. Anything Dad said to us then, when they were training us, he only did because if he didn’t they would hurt him more. But he’s not like that anymore. He makes really good pancakes and he gives the best hugs, and he will always, always protect you. I promise you.”

  
Lana nodded and stared at him.

“I made him sad because I was afraid of him, but as soon as the bad guys started following us he made sure i was hidden and I was safe.” She said quietly.

“Here, come with me. You can give him a hug and say you’re sorry for being afraid.” Talia stood up and took the young girl by the hand, leading her over to her Dad. He glanced at her hopefully but didn’t move. Lana stepped in front of him and glanced at Talia.

“I’m sorry I was afraid of you. Talia says you’re her Dad, and that you’re really nice now. And i know i was mean to be afraid of you, but you rescued me, so if you rescued Talia and now you’re her Dad, it’d be okay if that meant you were my Dad now too, because I never had a Dad, but I always remember you and Talia.” Lana said quietly. Bucky smiled the biggest smile Talia had ever seen.

“I’d love to be your dad, if you want me to be.” He said. “I promise, i’m here to protect you from now on.”

Lana grinned and held out her arms for a hug, and Bucky scooped her up, hugging her to his chest as though he never wanted to put her down. Steve and Sam walked over, finally having gotten all of Sams gear pulled away. Talia wrapped her arms around Steve, grateful that he was home safe.

“What, no hugs for me?” Sam teased her. She grinned, and released Steve, allowing Sam to wrap her up in a bear hug.

“Awe, I’ve missed you Uncle Sam. Thanks for bringing Lana home to me.” She said. Sam held on to her tightly.

“Anything for you, Princess.” He said. She punched him in the side, softly, forcing him to release her. Sam bent in pain

“Don’t call me Princess.” She said, glaring at him. He glanced at her.

“Damn girl. You’re twice as strong and twice as beautiful since the last time I saw you.” He said. Talia and Steve laughed, and the three of them joined the group, Bucky still holding Lana.

Uncle Tony started to say something about diagnostics tests and taking Lana to the lab when Talia shook her head.

“Uncle Tony, i love you, but absolutely not tonight. Lana is ten years old, she’s had a stressful day. What she needs right now is dinner and a bubble bath. You can do tests tomorrow.” Talia said firmly. “I’m taking her to her room.”

She reached to take Lana from her Dad, but Bucky shook his head. “I’ll come with you.”

They took the ten year old upstairs, to the room that had been set up beside Talia’s for her.

Bucky set her down, and went and started a bath. Lana looked around.

“Is this where I sleep?” She asked. Talia nodded.

“You’re safe here. I promise. Now let’s get you in to the bath, so we can have dinner. Wanda is making spaghetti, and she’s the best cook you’ll ever meet.” Talia said, and her little sister grabbed her hand, grinning for the first time.

 

***

Monday morning found Talia grinning, and excited to go to school for the first time in ages. Her Dad had stayed at the compound, so he could be with Lana, but Steve and Talia had come home for the week, so Talia wouldn’t miss any classes. She had pouted about it, but knew it was the right thing to do. Besides, she had plans to meet Peter after school to work on the project- if they could ever make any decisions.

Talia was standing in her yoga shorts and sports bra, stretching out, when Steve knocked on her door.

“Come in,” She called.

“Morning-oh sorry! I didn’t realise you weren’t dressed.” He stuttered, his face flushing with embarrassment.

“Steve, you’ve seen me in outfits like this before. Chill. I’m just stretching. What’s the big deal?” She said, but she pulled on a baggy t-shirt she had stolen from her Dad anyways.

“I know, but you’re a sixteen year old girl. I figured you might have some body image issues or you know, what your privacy…I’m sorry.” Steve said. Talia laughed.

“Steve, ninety percent of the adults it my life currently have seen me in some state of undress at one time or another. It’s not like I don’t get hauled in to the lab in my undergarments every six months for tests and diagnostics.”

“True. I was just...well I was raised to respect a ladies privacy, that’s all.” Steve said. “Anyways, if you’ve got time, there’s something I want to talk to you about. I’ve got breakfast ready.”

Talia followed Steve in to the small living room, where he had plates of eggs, sausages, hash browns and fruit salad waiting for her. She raised her eyebrows, and he indicated she should sit.

“I’m getting a little nervous. Am I in trouble?” She joked.

“No but...I want to talk to you. This is important.” He said, sitting down beside her.

“Talia...Your Dad...Bucky...I’ve known him practically my whole existence. I’ve been in love with him since I was a 15 year old kid in Brooklyn during the depression. Back then, this wasn’t something you talked about. It wasn’t even something you hinted at. If anyone had known, I would have been kicked out of the army, never become Captain America, and I’d never have this life I have now.” He swallowed, and reached into his pocket, and pulled out a ring box. “ I love the life I have with you, and with Bucky, but I’d really love to make it official. I’d really like your blessing to ask your father to marry me.”

Talia opened up the box to see a beautiful woven gold and silver band, nestled in to the velvet. She stared at it wordlessly then up at Steve, who’s eyes were shining with unshed tears. She launched herself across him, tackling him in to a hug, screaming. They settled on the couch, Talias legs draped over Steves, her head nestled in to his shoulder, both of them crying.

“Please yes, please ask him. Please.” She said, through her tears. “I love you so much and I love Dad, and I would love it if this was going to happen, we could be a real family.”

Steve's tears slipped out and he squeezed Talia in to a tight hug. The sat like that for a few moments, before Steve chuckled.

“You used to sit with me like this every time your Dad had to leave after we found you. It’s been awhile since we’ve sat like this though.” Steve said, wiping his eyes.

“Well yeah, cause now you’re always gone with Dad. And I’m getting too big for it.” She responded. “But it’s nice being close to you Steve. Hey wait, when you get married to I get to call you Dad as well?”

“If you want to.” Steve said ruffling her hair. “But since clearly you’re okay with this, eat your breakfast and get to school. I’ll be home when you get home.”

Talia slid off Steve’s lap and scarfed down her lukewarm eggs, before dashing off to get dressed. All her jeans were in the wash, she hadn’t had time to do laundry all weekend. She quickly pulled on a flowered dress and ankle boots, and grabbed her school cardigan and her bag.

“Don’t forget i’m going to be late tonight, i’m meeting Peter after school to work on our project!” She called to Steve, heading down the hallway. She stopped in the kitchen to grab her keys and say goodbye. Steve raised an eyebrow.

“You look...really nice.” He said.

“All my jeans are dirty, and anything else breaks the dress code.” She said.

“All your jeans just happen to be dirty, the day you’re meeting up with your drafting partner to work on a project? The same partner who was making you laugh all weekend with his text messages?”

“Yes, I was with Lana all day yesterday remember, I didn’t have time to do laundry.” She said impatiently. “ I have to go, i’m going to be late.”

She grabbed her keys and hurried out the door, Steve chuckled and grabbed his phone.

_ ‘Bucky stop. We may have to have that talk with Talia stop. She is wearing a dress to school and has a study meeting with a boy stop. When will you be back? Stop.’ _

His phone chimed a few minutes later.

_ ‘Home this weekend stop. Maybe we should reconsider that all girls school stop. Hope this kid knows what’s coming at him, stop. Love you. Stop’ _

Steve whistled and tucked his phone away. Peter Parker,-Whoever this kid was, had no idea what kind of a force Talia was.

 

***

 

Up at the compound, Bucky was sitting in the lab with Lana, Tony, and Dr. Helen Cho. She had flown in to run tests on Lana, to see what her bloodwork and body looked like with the advancements that Hydra had done to her. Lana, for her part was doing quite well, she had sat for almost three hours, being poked and prodded, and hooked up to machines. 

“You’re doing so good, Lana.” Bucky said to her for the thousandth time, as Dr. Cho took another vial of blood. She labelled it, put it in the cart, and handed Lana a juice box.

“We’re almost done for today, I promise.” She said. “When you’re done your juice, we’re just going to take a couple scans, and then you’re all done.”

Dr. Cho walked away, taking the blood samples over to the sanitary lab fridge, to store them for her lab work. Lana sucked down her juice box as fast as she could.

“You don’t have to drink it so fast, Lana.” Bucky said, “ We’re not going to take it away. We’ll get you more too, if you want.”

“Only one a day.” Lana said.

“What do you mean?” Bucky asked.

“At the other homes, where i was with the other kids, they said only one juice box per day. That’s it. And sometimes you had to drink it fast, or someone else would take yours. Is that not the rule here?” Lana asked, confused.

“No, Lana. That’s not the rule here. You can’t have so many that you’ll get sick, but you can have more than one.”

  
“Oh. Well, it’s okay because I don’t really like apple that much anyways.” She said, tossing the box in to the recycling, in a perfect arc.

“We can get other flavours.” Bucky said quietly, wishing he’d found her with Talia four years ago.

“Really?” Now she looked interested.

“Yeah. What’s your favourite?” Bucky asked, smiling.

“I like grape the best. And berry second best.” Lana said, her eyes lighting up. Bucky wrapped his arm around her, and lightly kissed her head.

“I am going to get you so many grape and berry juice boxes that by the time you finish them you’ll be sick of them.” He told her.

“Thanks...Dad…” She said softly, trying out the word. She had said it a few times, but it seemed to take some getting used to.

Lana and Bucky sat together, Lana swinging her legs off the edge of the exam table, waiting for Dr. Cho and Tony to come back.

“Alright Lana, last bit today, and then you’re free to go.” Tony said to her. Bucky lifted her off the exam table, and Tony led them over to a weird machine.

“Okay Lana, do you see that red X on the floor?” Tony pointed, and she nodded. “Good. I need you to stand in the very middle of it, and stay as still as you can. Then, i’m going to turn this machine on and it’s going to take a couple pictures of you for us to look at. Okay?”

Lana hesitated, and looked at her Dad, before looking at Tony warily.

“ Budet li mne bol'no?” She whispered to Bucky, slipping into russian automatically.

“Нет” Replied Bucky, crouching down. “I promise, it might feel weird, like kind of fuzzy, but it won’t hurt.”

Tony watched as Bucky whispered to the little girl for a moment.

“She’s worried it will hurt.” Bucky said. Tony shook his head.

“It won’t hurt. I promise. The lights are just going to shine over your body, and take pictures of different parts, so that we can make sure everything is okay. So you don’t have anything hurt on the inside that we can’t see.” Tony said. “Here. I’ll demonstrate.”

“No-let me.” Bucky said. Bucky let go of Lana’s hand, and stepped on to the red X. Tony nodded, and turn the machine on. Different coloured lights ran over his body in waves, and the hairs on his arm stood up, feeling fuzzy like he had told Lana. Tony turned the machine off, and Bucky stepped off. On the screen in front of Lana were five images of Bucky’s body, outlining all his muscles, and nerves and organs.

“See? I promise it doesn’t hurt.” Bucky said. Lana nodded, still not smiling, and stepped in to the machine, planting herself firmly on the X. She closed her eyes, and nodded. Tony turned on the machine, and Lana felt fuzzy as the lights roamed over her. A moment later, the lights stopped, and Bucky was calling to her.

She stepped over to him, shaking, still nervous, and he scooped her up.

“Great job, Lana. Thank you so much!” Dr. Cho said. Tony nodded.

“We’re going to look at everything now, and tomorrow we’ll talk to you and Bucky about what we’ve figured out, okay?” Dr. Cho said to Lana, smiling. Tony was already looking over Lana’s scans, frowning.

“Let’s go play now, hey kiddo?” Bucky said, carrying her out of the lab. Lana rubbed her eyes.

“Dad...can I have a nap? I’m really tired.” She said.

“Of course! That was a really hard morning. You have a nap, and when you wake up, i’ll show you the swimming pool.” He said, carrying her to her room. She was asleep before he got there, and he tucked her in under the light purple blankets that FRIDAY had ordered for them.

“Сон хорошо, маленький ангел” He whispered to her, smoothing his hand over her brown hair.

Another daughter, he smiled ruefully, heading to the kitchen for lunch. He has a perfect boyfriend, and two perfect daughters. Now, he just needed to find Sam, to discuss his plan to make that boyfriend a husband.


	4. Secrets, Smiles, and Sisters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter and Talia start the project. Talia and Lana miss each other. Tony, Dr. Cho, and Bruce explain the results of the tests to Bucky.

Chapter 4 Secrets, Smiles, and Sisters

Talia flopped down at a table, across from Peter Parker, who grinned at her ruffled hair.

“Rough day?” He asked. She sighed.

“They lost the game this weekend. So, Coach was in a pissy mood. I hate that PE is an everyday class.”

She unloaded her books on to the table and smiled at Peter, who slid a tupperware container over to her.

“Fruit Salad. My Aunt May made it. She always sends me extra.” He said. Talia popped off the lid and began picking at the salad.

“So. We need to decide if we are going to build out of metal or wood before we can design anything. I still think we should stick to wood.”

“I think metal. It’s more advanced techniques.” Peter replied.

“Yeah but they only let us use that terrible sheet metal. It’s like tin foil. So our design would have to be simpler.” Talia argued back.

“Okay, okay, what about this? Why don’t we pick a theme and each make a rough design, and then whoevers design is better we’ll do.”

“That’s a waste of time. Why don’t we just rock paper scissors?”

  
“We might as well flip a coin if you want to decide it that way!   
  
“Flipping a coin leaves it to chance. I want to get a good grade on this, Peter.”   
  
“Rock paper scissors is chance too!”   
  
“No it’s not!” Talia huffed, slamming her book closed. She hit it a little too hard and the table legs bent below them. She froze in shock.

“These tables are so old and weak, they’re practically made of tinfoil as well.” Peter said, after a moment of silence. “Maybe you’re right, wood would be the way to go for this.”

“I didn’t...i mean, i’m not...i’m sorry…” She trailed off, trying to calm herself. Peter offered her a crooked smile.

“It’s okay. You’re right. It’s a drafting project so we need to focus on the design not the materials right now.” He reached in to his bag and pulled out another container. “My aunt also made cookies for us. Chocolate chip.”

 

Talia was silent for a minute more and offered Peter a grateful smile. The look in his eyes though- it made Talia think he knew she had a secret. And that maybe, he knew something about secrets too. Talia grabbed a cookie, and flipped her book back open.

“Okay, so the theme is transportation…” She said, and they began to sketch.

An hour and a half later they both had a rough copy of a design they could show there instructor and import on the computer tomorrow during class. They had polished off all of Aunt Mays cookies, and most of the fruit salad.

“Which way do you walk?” Talia asked him, as they left the school.

“Oh i take the train. So i go this way.” He said, pointing across the football field.

“Oh, gotcha. Well, I’m only a few blocks away so I walk this way.” She nodded her head to the left. Peter offered her a shy smile.

“I had fun. I think we’re going to get a really good grade on our project.” Peter said.

“Yeah! Me too. Okay, so i’ll see you tomorrow?” She asked and he nodded. “Say thank you to your aunt for the snacks!”

They headed in opposite directions, and Talia couldn’t help but smile. She had her little sister back, her project was going great and...well, she couldn’t help but admit Peter made her smile a lot. He might be scrawny, but he was funny.

She cut through the parking lot of her building and headed up to the tenth floor apartment. She could take the elevator, but the stairs gave her a better chance to stretch. Maybe Steve would take her to the gym tonight? She could hear laughter as she approached the apartment, and opened the door slowly.

“Hello?” She called out, hanging her cardigan up.

“In the living room Princess!”

Talia flew in to the living room and grinned at the sight of Uncle Sam, sitting across from Steve.

“Uncle Sam! It’s great to see you. But don’t call me Princess.” She said as he stood up and wrapped her in a tight hug.

“Can’t help it, sorry darling.”

“What are you doing here? Is Dad okay? How’s Lana doing?” Talia asked, settling on the floor and dumping out her books.

“I’m doing some work in town for a bit. Figured i’d come see you since we didn’t get to catch up this weekend. Lana and your Dad are doing fine. Getting used to one another. Although, I don’t think Bucky knows what to do with her. You were pretty much grown up but Lana...she needs a lot more help and attention.” Sam said, looking Talia over. “Speaking of attention, you look rather nice considering you were just studying with a boy.”

Talia threw her novel at him and rolled her eyes.

“Dirty clothes, this was the only thing i had that was dress code appropriate. And Peter and I are partners on a project, that’s it.”

“Aha the mystery partner has a name.” Steve interjected. “We’ll have to take a look in to this kid.”

“You will do no such thing. He’s just my drafting partner. Now give me my book back, I have to start marking down quotes I want to use in my term paper.” Talia caught the book one handed as Sam tossed it back to her, laughing.

“Hey Steve can we go to the gym tonight?” She asked, flicking through her novel.

“After supper, Sam are you staying?”

Uncle Sam and Steve moved in to the kitchen, giving Talia a little bit of privacy to work on her homework, which also let her peek at her phone privately when it chimed a moment later.

“I did some of the math quickly, here are my numbers.” the message from Peter read. Her phone chimed again a second later.

“Also- I admit, you were right all along about designing for wood, not metal. I apologize. I am no match for your beauty and smarts, i hope you will forgive me ;)’

Talia laughed then quickly shut her mouth. She typed out a quick response.

“Well, my peasant friend, as your math pleases me, I shall deign to forgive your error in judgement!”

She put her phone down and went back to her novel. Peter had said she had beauty- what did that mean? Did he have a crush on her? She sighed. Even if he did- and IF-she reciprocated- it couldn’t go anywhere. It was already hard enough at school with everyone knowing she was the adopted daughter of the former winter soldier. If it wasn’t for the paparazzi, they wouldn’t even know that. They got away with the lie that she was his grand-niece, and that once he was cleared by the United Nations, he had popped up as a suitable guardian for her, since her parents had died, but no one at the school knew the truth of her upbringing, or her abilities. Oh well, she thought. The drafting project would only be for two weeks, and then it was spring break. Once she and Peter had some time apart he’d realize he didn’t have a crush on her, and would move on.

Talia focused back on the Merchant of Venice, unaware that Steve and Sam had been watching her the whole time, and seen the way her face flushed when she checked her phone.

“That looks like trouble, man.” Sam said quietly to Steve, clapping him on the shoulder.

“I know. I know. I’ll have Tony check in to this kid for me.” He replied, before grabbing his phone. “You feel like pizza tonight?”

 

***

Lana was crying and Bucky didn’t know what to do.

“I want Lala” she said, sniffling through her tears. She had been asking for Talia for an hour.

“She’s on her way, I promise. Do you want another grape juice?” He asked desperately.

That sent Lana in to a fresh wave of tears, curled on her bed. She’d been napping and had a nightmare and woke up screaming, demanding Talia’s presence. When she couldn’t be soothed with a video call and grape juice, Steve had taken Talia to Stark Tower, and gotten her on a helicopter to take her upstate. Bucky ran a hand through his hair, wishing they would arrive.

“Mr. Barnes, Miss Barnes, the helicopter is approaching the landing pad. Ms. Barnes should be disembarking momentarily.” FRIDAY called out to them. Lana sat straight up.

“Talia’s here, she came for me. She came back for me.” Lana said crying.

Less than five minutes later a disheveled Talia came rushing in to Lana’s room, wrapping the sobbing girl in to her arms on the bed. Steve stood at the door, and nodded his head for Bucky to leave the girls alone.They joined Sam in the kitchen while Talia calmed the little girl down.

“What happened?” Steve asked. Bucky shrugged.

“We did some more testing. Tony and Helen said they wanted to check something. So Lana went for a nap after like she usually does, and then all of a sudden she woke up screaming, wouldn’t let me near her, and demanded Talia.” He said. His shoulders slumped and Steve placed a comforting hand on his thigh.

“We don’t know what she’s seen, or what she remembers, Bucky.” Steve said quietly. “She’s a ten year old kid who was basically an experiment for the first six years of her life. It’s not a reflection of you.”

Bucky nodded, and accepted the cup of coffee that Sam slid across the counter to him with a grateful smile.

“Distract me. How’s Talia doing? How’s that big project going?” He asked. Sam and Steve shared a smile.

“Talia’s got a crush.” Sam said. Bucky froze.

“We don’t know if it’s a crush.” Steve chided. “It’s her project partner, some kid from Queens who lives with his Aunt. His name is Peter, and it’s the first person from school she’s ever really connected with. It could just be a friend, but either way, we’re having Tony look in to him and get us some information.”

Bucky nodded. If Tony was looking in to the kid, then he knew they’d find out everything. His thoughts were interrupted by Talia herself, and a calm but tear stained faced Lana joining them in the kitchen.

“I’m sorry.” Lana said, wrapping her arms around Bucky. “I had a nightmare about the compound and I was scared. But i talked to Talia. She says it’s all okay now and she’s my big sister so I believe her. But i’m sorry I was scared of you.”

Bucky scooped the little girl up, wrapping her in a tight hug.

“It’s okay. You don’t need to be sorry. I remember what it was like, when you suddenly remember scary things. It still happens to me sometimes too. We’ll help you though, we’ll make sure you’re always safe and taken care of and then one day even if you do have a nightmare or remember something, it won’t be as scary and you’ll be okay.” Bucky said, holding her tight. Lana squeezed him back, resting her cheek against his shoulder.

“Talia said we could have ice cream now.” She told him, as he set her down. Talia grinned. Bucky and Steve rolled there eyes. Talia had somehow talked Tony Stark in to getting them a soft serve ice cream machine in the compound kitchen. Although, Bucky mused, Tony Stark did have a soft spot for Talia, so it wasn’t that hard.

Now that the crisis was averted, Sam and Steve decided to head back to the city. Talia was going to stay for the weekend, but Sam and Steve had a mission to do. Bucky walked them down to the garage, holding tight to Steve’s hand. Sam headed to the jet to get it ready, giving Steve and Bucky some privacy.

“I’ve missed you.” Bucky said, pressing his forehead to Steves.

“Missed you too. Hopefully you’ll be home next week.” Steve said. “And Talia starts spring break next weekend so if you’re not, we’ll be here. Maybe we can take Lana and Talia to the beach.”

Bucky nodded, pulling Steve closer to him, claiming his mouth in a kiss. They parted, unwillingly a moment later. Steve held Bucky in a hug, tightly, for another moment before heading towards Sam, to take the jet home.

Bucky headed back to the kitchen where the girls were giggling, faces smeared with chocolate sauce, the counter covered in sprinkles. Bucky wrapped an arm around Talia’s shoulder and kissed her temple.

“Missed you, Princess.” He said. She pressed a chocolatey kiss to his cheek.

“Missed you too, Daddy.” Talia whispered back. Bucky left the girls at the counter to finish there ice cream, and tidied up the mess they’d made. He couldn’t help but notice the smile on her face when his eldest daughter checked her phone when it buzzed a moment later. He also noticed the look on Lana’s face when Talia’s attention was diverted. She had noticed as well though.

“Sorry Lana, one second, it’s my drafting partner. Let me just tell him where I’m at on the project, and then i’ll make us popcorn and we can watch a movie!” She said, the smile on the little girls face lighting up.

“You’re going to ruin your appetite” Bucky said, frowning. She rolled her eyes.

“Dad, i eat almost as much as you do!” She said, tucking her phone away. Bucky could never say no to his daughter though, so twenty minutes later he was ensconced on the couch with his girls on either side of him, a bowl of buttery popcorn on his lap and the opening credits to Mary Poppins playing on the screen.

He smiled. It would be better if his love was here, but he had his girls, and his heart was content.

 

***

Saturday morning came, and Bucky was woken by a chime from FRIDAY.

“Sorry to wake you, Mr. Barnes, but Mr. Stark wanted me to inform you he’s on his way in and would like to meet with you and Dr. Cho.” the friendly AI voice said.

“Thanks FRIDAY. Can you let me know when he’s here?”

“Of course, sir.”

Bucky headed for the shower, hurrying through it quickly. He knew something was up with Lana’s tests, but he didn’t know. Maybe she wasn’t an enhanced? She’d been so small, she’d been brought in as a baby, so who knew what could be going on.

Twenty minutes later, Bucky was sitting at the kitchen table, across from Helen, Tony, and to his surprise, Dr. Bruce Banner. The girls were still asleep, and Bucky didn’t want to wake them.

“So we’ve been going over all the tests we’ve done with Lana, and comparing them to what we have from Talia, and the information we’ve been able to get from Hydra.” Tony said, bringing up a holoscreen. “A few things stand out. Number One being obviously Lana is another enhanced individual, however we thought given her age it would be less so than Talia, but the rate seems to be concurrent with Talia’s growth.”

  
“What Tony is trying to say, James, is that Lana isn’t as strong as Talia yet, but they’re growing the same way. So when Lana gets to be Talia’s age, she’ll be just as strong as Talia is now, maybe stronger” Helen said, clearing up the confused look on Bucky’s face.

“Okay. Cool. Both my adopted daughters are enhanced individuals. We already sort of figured that out though, right?” He responded. The three of them nodded.

“There’s something else though.” Bruce said quietly, flipping the screen around and showing three separate DNA strands.

“The first one is yours. The second is Talia’s. The third is Lana’s.”

“Okay. Why are you showing me this?” Bucky asked.

“Because you and Lana have shared DNA, and Lana and Talia have shared DNA but you and Talia don’t have shared DNA.” Tony said. Bucky was silent.

“James, what we’re trying to say is we don’t think you’re just Lana’s adopted father. We believe there is a chance you’re her biological father as well.” Helen said calmly, resting her hand on his.

“What about Talia?” He asked.

“Well Talia and Lana share DNA but Talia doesn’t really share any with you. The enhanced genome map matches up but we believe that’s because of the serum. However, we do think they may have the same mother.” Bruce said.

“And you think I impregnated that woman and got Lana?” Bucky asked.

“Yes. and that, potentially, Lana could be the first person born with the kind of enhanced abilities you have, she didn’t gain them via the serum.” Tony confirmed. “What does this mean?” Bucky asked, rubbing his metal hand through his hair.

“It means that Lala’s my big sister for real and you’re my Dad for real. But I already knew Lala and I were sisters.” A sleepy voice echoed behind them. The four of them turned to see Lana, in her fuzzy pajamas, holding a grape juice box, standing behind them.

“Lana, sweetheart, how long have you been there?” Helen asked. She shrugged, sipping her juice.

“Not long. I woke up when Lala woke up but she went to the gym with Auntie Natasha so I came here. It’s not like you guys were being quiet though.”

Tony grinned at the facetious child. Bucky got up and began to make Lana breakfast while Tony cleared away the holoscreens. Bruce explained they’d like to run some more tests on both the girls abilities, to see what they could glean. As the three of them made to clear out of the kitchen, Helen stopped and glanced at Lana.

“Lana what did you mean when you said you already knew you and Talia were sisters?” She asked. Lana shrugged.

“I remember a lady with really blonde hair. She was with some of the guards. She said she was my Mom, but she couldn’t be my Mom anymore and I had to go with the guards and that my big sister Natalia would be there, and she’d take care of me. I was really little. I couldn’t even walk yet. But she said she loved me.” Lana slurped her cereal. “And then when the building blew up they told me Talia was crushed and they had to get me away from there because my Mom was going to want me back. And they took me to a lady who wasn’t my Mom and she said she was going to find me a safe place to live. And the gaurds were saying it was a bad thing that Talia didn’t make it because our genes were so good that when we grew up we’d be able to make the perfect Moms, just like our Mom was. And I asked them and they said that the blonde lady was our mother, both of ours, but they couldn’t find her and this other lady was going to take care of me.”

There was a pause while Lana ate some more cereal. Tony shrugged.

“She could have an incredibly advanced memory. We’ll have to test it. But it confirms our theory that they’re biologically sisters.” He cocked his head at Bucky, who was standing on the other side of the counter staring at his daughter in shock.

  
“You got any memories like that, Barnes?” He asked. “No memories of fun times with hot blonde russian chicks?”

Bucky shook his head, still staring at Lana. He couldn’t believe it.

“Well, it looks like Lana really is Barnes daughter and Talia and Lana really are sisters. I wonder if we can track down blonde russian lady.”

  
“What the hell are you talking about?!” A voice cried out from the other door.

Everyone turned to see a shocked, sweaty, and fuming Talia standing in the back door to the kitchen.

“Shit.” Was all Tony could say.


End file.
